Question on training for a half marathon

How did you train to build up to 6.5 miles? Losing more weight will help of course, do you have 25 more to lose?
There are many training programs available online, but nothing is going to replace getting out there and running.

What worked for me in a nutshell was to
1. increase my distances gradually. I would routinely run 5km, so about every 4th run I would up the distance to anywhere from 6 to 15k. I bounced up and down a lot depending on how I felt (a month of training might look something like 5,5,6,5,8,5,5,7,5,6,5,10,5,5 ...) and to be honest I don't think I ever ran further than 15k in my lead-up to the half marathon. Once I got pretty good at being able to run far I decided to work on pacing

2. My routine 5k took about 35 mins (7min/km) so I just tried to cut that down in 15sec intervals. This was not nearly as easy as changing distances! I actually started this portion of my training by just making sure I could run even 1km in 6:45sec, I would run the 1km, walk around a bit to get my breath back and then do it again.
It took me about 3 months of training to finally be able to crack the 30min 5km mark. Changing the pace made it very difficult for me to run far so I had to kind of find a happy medium where my pace didn't screw up my breathing too bad.

congrats on your success so far and good luck in the training.

You weight a couple lbs more than me, and same height. Losing more weight will definitely help, but so will getting more miles in under your belt. Just keep being consistent and slowly increase your mileage

I recently ran my first half and got a lot of advice from very experienced runners I know because my dad is super into running and has lots of friends who were all eager to give advice. They all agreed that really your only goal for your first half-marathon should be to finish. Focus on the distance, you can worry about time later.

I have often come across the general rule of thumb that you shouldn't try and increase by more than 10% a week, that is for distance or speed. It allows your body to adapt and get stronger so you (hopefully) don't hurt yourself.

As you increase mileage and get stronger you will get quicker, but I wouldn't get hung up on speed.
I've been running for years and am only just now getting to 13 min miles, it doesn't really matter, the achievement for me is the same.

I think you could do a half marathon in 3 months. Cutting over 2 minutes per mile off your pace while doubling your distance in 3 months? Probably not going to happen. Look into Hal Higdon's training plans. Find one and stick to it.

I never like to discourage anyone from achieving their goals, but I have to agree that, given your current level of ability, running a half marathon in under 2 hours is a pretty lofty goal. I only say that because trying to do too much in such a short period of time is likely to leave you with an injury that could keep you from running a half marathon at all. You are definitely in a position to run the half marathon, but I would encourage you to put your expectations of pace aside and just focus on achieving the distance goal. Once you get there, there is plenty of time to work on improving your pace. I know many, many people that have been running for years and still have not achieved a sub-2 hour half marathon.

You might want to start trying to run your 1/4 on macadam. Sand and macadam is like comparing apples to oranges. I used to run 10 miles (on macadam) in 70 minutes. It was my best run, and my knees are shot because of it. I was 35 at the time (40 now) not sure your age but maybe you still have some years left on your knees.

daveredvette wrote: »

lot of good advice from other runners. Since this is your first 1/2 marathon, set your goal to finish and enjoy the finish line. You will then get the running bug and want to do another 1/2 or full. Find another 1/2 to run in 2020 and then train for faster pace.
shot out for Hal Higdon training

^^This.

The only way to go fast is to go slow. Your body needs to build up the fitness required to efficiently run fast and that take hours and long, slow, miles. Increasing your pace by 2:00/mile over 13 miles is not trivial. 3 months is not nearly enough training time to increase your fitness level; and doing too much, too soon, too fast is the best way to become injured. I would focus on a consistently training over the next 12 weeks - something like 3 weekday runs x 3 miles and a long run on the weekend. That will give your body enough time to recover between workouts. Your goal should be to run 10 miles at a comfortable pace in 12 weeks. Do not worry about race-pace. You're halfway there! Enjoy your first half and when it's over, grab one of Hal Higdon's training plans and sign up to RACE your second half. BTW congrats on your weight loss - damn impressive!